blight

CEFRC1

/blaɪt/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    cause to suffer a blight.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    A state of cloudy, humid weather.

Examples

  • A devastating potato blight and famine struck in Ireland in the 1840's.

  • The doctor said that this blight is immedicable.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. The cause of such a condition, often unseen but believed to be airborne; specifically, a bacterium, a virus, or (especially) a fungus; also, an aphid which attacks fruit trees.

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A diseased condition suffered by a plant; specifically, a complete and rapid chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as floral organs, leaves, branches, or twigs, especially one caused by a fungus; a mildew, a rust, a smut.

  2. Something that impedes development or growth, or spoils any other aspect of life.

More examples

In context

  • Those obscene tattoos are going to blight your job prospects.

  • This vine never blights.

  • Proceed, inhuman Parent in thy Scorn; / Root up my Trees, vvith Blites deſtroy my Corn; / My Vineyards Ruin, and my Sheepfolds burn.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The potato farmers worried that the fungal blank would ruin this year's harvest.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

The etymology of the noun is uncertain; suggested derivations include the following: * possibly related to Middle English blichening (“mildew or rust on grain, blight”), possibly related to Middle English bliken (“to gleam, shine; to turn pale”), from Old English blīcan (“to shine, sparkle”) (whence modern English blike (“(obsolete) to gleam, shine”); also compare Old Norse blikna (“to grow pallid”)), from Proto-West Germanic *blīkan (“to shine”), from Proto-Germanic *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyǵ- (“to shine”); or * since sense 2.2 refers to a diseased condition of the skin, possibly from Middle English *bleighte, *bleȝte, from Old English blǣcþa (“leprosy”)...